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When President Reagan nominated Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, it was the spark that fueled a months-long firestorm during which liberals and conservatives battled fiercely over Reagan’s choice, each trying to gain control of the nation’s judicial future. The American public, captivated by this struggle for power, weighed in with an unprecedented outpouring of mail and telephone calls to the United States Senate arguing both pro- and con- positions.Based on scores of interviews with key figures and a shrewd analysis of the issues, then-Boston Globe reporter Ethan Bronner chronicles this engrossing story of a titanic struggle for political power. It features key players such as Senators Joseph Biden and Edward Kennedy, with the latter leading the fight against the appointment using savvy Madison Avenue style strategies; a Justice Department desperate to hold its ground; a shocked White House staff, caught off-guard; and of course Bork himself, who insisted that the process of confirming justices for our nations highest court has been transformed in a way that should not and indeed must not be permitted to occur again.”Featuring a new epilogue, Where Are They Now?”

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Bronner, legal affairs reporter for the Boston Globe , has written an excellent account of Robert Bork's unsuccessful nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. The selection of Bork, whose previous judicial decisions restricted the scope of individual liberties, was a central part of the Reagan administration's shift away from 1950s and 1960s approaches to civil rights. Bronner uncovers conflicts in Bork's legal positions and how these disparities led to major controversies in the Senate hearings. The nomination also mobilized an effective grass-roots anti-Bork campaign and caused infighting between the White House and Justice Department. A clear presentation of a legally and politically complex situation. BOMC selection.- Steve Puro, St. Louis Univ .Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

An immensely important story, and Bronner is to be credited for providing a compelling and sensitive reconstruction of the struggle.”Robert Shogan, Boston GlobeExtremely dramatic history .[A] vital portrait of a political process.” Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York TimesCompelling .explored with fairness and insight.” Digby Diehl, PlayboyThoroughly researched, powerfully written, well-balanced, and scrupulously honest.” Allen Drury, The WashingtonianA well-crafted and insightful overview of the nomination struggle.”Sanford Levinson, The Nation

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

I'm a Supreme Court junkie and was delighted to hear about this book after reading Lou Cannon's biography on Reagan. Bronner's book captures the moment of Bork's nomination better than anything out there in a way that is readable and complete. He gives excellent summaries of the dominant political players including Biden, Simpson, and Bork himself. He also predicts the ultimate outcome of such a partisan fight. This is a terrific work.

Bronner's work is a good read for a historical political junkie. It traces the history of Justice Bork's nomination from it's inception to its ultimate failure. Coming on the heals of Justice Antonin Scalia's nomination and confirmation, the left, led by Ted Kennedy, wasn't going to sit by and let all the gains of previous decades slip away. Gains in Civil Rights, Women's Rights, environment would disappear to right wing ideology had Bork gotten approved. Some characterize Bork's confirmation hearings as character assassination but I disagree after reading this book. His character wasn't assassinated - his previous rulings were exposed to the light of day and America rejected them - and ultimately him.

Character assassination is a pervasive and undoubtedly lamentable phenomenon in our political culture. But only a selective reading of history would identify the Robert Bork hearings as the genesis of that phenomenon.

One need only look to the pioneering work of Lee Atwater for precedent. The career of Atwater -- whose shameless brand of attack politics won him the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee and inspired such hatchet men as Karl Rove -- demonstrates what character assassination really looks like.

The Bork confirmation hearings were not an instance of character assassination. They were an examination of Bork's truly radical legal and political philosophies.

As we begin the confirmation hearings for John Roberts, there is a distinction to be drawn. Inquiries regarding legal and political philosophies are entirely appropriate. Unfounded and highly personal smear campaigns are not.

The Bronner book is a fascinating look at the evolving relationship between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. In the future, let us not substitute revisionist historical commentary for genuine literary criticism.